In this video, staff writer Dan Parker is joined by PGA Pro and well-known YouTuber Peter Finch to provide his best 5 golf swing tips. Regardless of your ability, you're certain to benefit from the advice Peter offers in this golf tuition video - whether it's tips on how to aim properly, how to hit fairway woods sweetly every time or what your swing thoughts should be - Peter Finch has got you covered.
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00:00Right, welcome Pete, Finch, we've got you back where it all began I guess. A bit of
00:04coaching, some tips for everybody at home at the beautiful range here at Fornby Golf Club.
00:10We've got a couple of questions from readers we're going to get stuck into in a bit, but first a
00:13couple of sort of basics I want to start with you. In your long time as a coach, prior to being a
00:17content creator. I mean medium time, why are you trying to make me sound so odd? You know, in the
00:22grand scheme of the history of the year. Why do you think you sound wise? I'm young, I'm young, I'm
00:26still, I'm still energetic, I've still got it. So as a young hip content creator and formerly very
00:31young coach, what is the tip you sort of gave out the most? What's a real common thing that you
00:37taught people that maybe people sort of forget back at home?
00:42Face, like understanding of where the face is aiming throughout the swing. So
00:46I think a lot of people when they have a lesson and if they've seen their swing on video,
00:50they'll say, oh you know, I'm coming over the top, I'm slicing it, I'm hitting a hook, I'm coming from
00:54the inside, flicking their hands. They'll jump to a technical explanation and big major swing changes
01:01before they even look at the club face. So the amount of lessons I've given where people are
01:06hitting a slice, they say, I'm coming over the top, I'm moving left, I'm hitting a slice, I've
01:10tried to come from the inside or the rest of it. When you actually look at their club face,
01:14throughout the swing, it's open, their grip is too weak and they don't have control over the
01:21actual thing which is hitting the ball. So with those guys and girls, I mean if they're swinging
01:26and that club face is open, so pointing to the right of the target for a right-hander,
01:31and they would swing on play, nice neutral path, and their impact would send the ball off to the
01:36right-hand side with an open face. What the brain will do, because it's a target-orientated sport,
01:41is automatically try and send the club a little bit more out. That way there's a way to try and correct
01:45with paths. So before even getting onto any aspect of the swing, club face. Club face is key.
01:53Very good. I think something we can all take away with us if you're struggling a little bit,
01:57think about that club face, maybe think about that grip as well before we start major swing changes.
02:05Okay Pete, next up, what's the best piece of swing advice that you think too many golfers ignore?
02:10Aim. Thanks for watching, appreciate that. There's a perfect example I had with a lesson of my Nigel,
02:21who we were seeing each other for a good 12 months, regular lessons, and he was swinging it
02:28unbelievable. Like his ball flight, you could aim him down a straight road and he'd be middling it
02:34every single time. It was so consistent. But then he'd always come back and he'd say, Pete, I'm
02:39shooting eight over, nine over, I'm hitting a slice, I just can't find the fairway. It's always going off
02:45to the right-hand side. And this was very confusing for me, because obviously when we were coaching,
02:50everything was great. It looked great. So we had a playing lesson and it pretty quickly became evident,
02:56right from the first hole, that he was aiming consistently 20 to 30 yards right at target.
03:03And then he was putting his normal swing on it that we've been working really hard on.
03:07The ball was finishing 20, 30 yards right, and he was like, I'm slicing it, I'm pushing it,
03:11what's going on with my swing? Nothing Nigel. And they say it like that, I let it go for a three
03:16hole. So when I did come up with the explanation, I looked like an absolute genius. But basically,
03:23if you are playing golf, there's something that you need to remember and you need to take to heart.
03:29This is a target-orientated sport. And yet, aim of clubface, of body, is one of the few things
03:39that golfers overlook consistently. Same with grip, same with things like posture.
03:43If you think about this, if you were watching an archer and an archer was consistently aiming
03:4820 yards right at the target, would that not be a red flag that this is not Robin Hood? Like,
03:54this is the worst archer that you've ever seen. And yet, if you're watching this, if you're listening
03:59to this, when was the last time you actually worked on your aim in a target-orientated sport?
04:05And I'm going to guess that probably 70, 80% of you haven't worked on where they're aiming for ever.
04:11And it's a crazy thing. And it's one of the reasons why golf is such a crazy, frustrating sport.
04:17But, to give you a very, very quick overview of this, you've got two lines you need to be worried
04:24about. Target line, which is the imaginary line going from your ball to where you want it to finish.
04:30Now, I'm going to do parallel alignment here. So, this is aiming your body and your club along the
04:35same line. Well, the same path. What I mean by that is, if you imagine a train track here, outer rail,
04:42inner rail, this is parallel alignment. So, your body doesn't technically aim at the target. It's
04:48just parallel to your target line. Now, this is an alignment if you want to hit the ball relatively
04:55straight. If you're someone who hooks the ball consistently, this alignment might switch over
05:00to the right. It might switch over to the left. But it's just understanding your club face and how
05:05that interacts with your aim. But, my God, please, please, please, please work on your aim before you
05:11start messing around with other things. Sounds like it's frustrated you quite a lot. It's just
05:16so obvious. It is, isn't it? We don't do it. No. When was the last thing you worked on your
05:20end? Be honest with me. I'm in the 70 to 80 percent. I don't do it at all. I don't do it at all.
05:23What do you do out on course, though? Is there a little rude? Like, what's your pre-shot? If I took
05:27all this away, right? Yeah, yeah. And we're on a hole here and you've got whatever iron in hand.
05:31What do you do on course to then help and make sure that's consistent and we don't do a Nigel,
05:35as I'm going to refer to? So, first of all, we need to establish what target line is. So,
05:41let's say I'm aiming down here towards, well, let's keep it really simple. So, I'm going down
05:44here towards this first yellow flag. Got you. Now, imagine this was 200 yards in the distance. Yeah.
05:49Okay. It's a lot easier to line up to something just in front of the ball than it is a long way away.
05:55So, behind the ball, I'd establish what my target line is. So, from my ball to this yellow flag here.
06:02Usually, I just lift my shaft up. I draw it down straight line and then I pick something just in
06:09front of my ball. So, this little worm cast. Very good. Yeah. Worm cast, everybody. Yeah.
06:15David Attenborough, come for your job. So, I'd go with this worm cast here. I'd start with my feet
06:21together. I'd aim my club face at the worm cast, which I know sits on my ultimate target line.
06:27Now, because my feet are together, my toes, my knees, my hips, my shoulders are all square and they're all
06:32parallel to my club face. All I need to do then is separate my feet the appropriate amount and I
06:38know that I'm in the line parallel to my target line with my body. Easy as that. Simple as that.
06:43But again, it's just routine. It's doing it again and again and again. Again, that's something I
06:46don't do on course enough for every shot and I definitely don't work on my aim. So, I think
06:52you're pretty frustrated by this and I get it. But just think about it. Just think about this.
06:57I'm getting told off at school here. Think about it. But in any other target-driven sport,
07:03you would be considered crazy if you didn't work on where you're aiming it. But in golf,
07:07it's like, ah, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. It does. It really matters. If you want
07:12to get better, you've got to know where you're aiming.
07:17Okay. Next up, Pete, we all have swing thoughts. We have lots of thoughts. Sometimes it can get a bit
07:22busy, but when you're working on something and have to go out on the course and play,
07:27how many swing thoughts would you suggest people have actually on the golf course and then no
07:32shout about what you're thinking about at the minute to help people kind of identify that?
07:35So, in an absolute ideal world, you shouldn't have any?
07:38Yes. You shouldn't have any. The simplest way of doing this and the simplest way of demonstrating
07:46this and I'll need a willing volunteer. Thank you so much. I believe you're one of those left-handed
07:51people. I am, yeah. I do it all the wrong way around. In every culture, there are some. So,
07:56we have basically, very simple here. So, target down towards that first yellow flag. This guy here,
08:02yeah. Just give it a chuck and kind of... Just throw it. Yeah, try and hit it if we can.
08:05Throw right-handed. Oh, you throw right-handed? Of course. Of course he does. Why wouldn't he?
08:08So, throw it right-handed. Down we go. Okay. Cool. Same again. Just throw it down towards the target.
08:17This time, try and keep your elbow at a 90-degree angle towards the floor.
08:22And throw it. And throw it.
08:26That's going to look great on camera. Look at that go in.
08:29That's wonderful. Great accuracy. Let's start throwing it.
08:32How wonderfully awkward did that feel? Awful. All I could think about was my elbow and how silly I
08:37looked. So, the point that I'm trying to get across here is you are playing a sport which involves
08:42pretty much every single part of your body. It is moving in a synchronized or sometimes a non-synchronized
08:49manner, trying to propel a golf ball down towards your target. The whole motion, whole operation,
08:54takes usually a second or less. The chances are of making an effective swing on the course while
09:02you're thinking of these different aspects of your technique are almost zero. Because you don't have time,
09:09you have different whys, you have different winds, you have different conditions. The chances of
09:14actually making a swing change whilst you're playing are so small that it's almost not worth it.
09:21Now, you may be thinking, well, Pete, you're a golf coach. You give lessons on how to change technique.
09:28What on earth are you talking about? Well, ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to something
09:32called the driving range. This is a part of a golf course or hopefully in your local town and area where
09:38you can come and practice and work on your technique in the safety, surroundings and comforting manner,
09:46which doesn't involve keeping a track of a score. The whole point of practice is that you work on your
09:52swing here, you ingrain changes like that first throw you did that was natural, but you weren't
09:58thinking of it because you've done it all your life. Then you take it out of the golf course and you trust
10:02the fact that you've practiced enough to make that change. Right. Because as soon as a target's
10:09introduced, that's where your thought needs to be. Yeah. Not on the process. If you're out on the golf
10:15course, the chances are, the chances are you will have a swing thought. Yeah. Golf is such a hard sport and
10:24when you see and when you interview the very best players, when you ask them about like a monumental
10:29round that they've had, often they'll talk about not really remembering much of it or being in the
10:34zone because they've got their technique and they're trusting it to the extent that they're
10:38just going out and playing golf in its purest form. You know, they're not thinking about anything.
10:42However, to get to that point, often having a swing thought which is as simple as possible and
10:49often which is orientated around target is the best thing to do. So extending arms down towards the
10:56target and that's a bit of a weird, funky drill. There's things which you can do about tempo, about
11:02trying to keep yourself on an even keel mentally. There are things and thoughts that you can have.
11:08What you don't want to be doing is getting on the golf course and thinking,
11:11oh, I need to have a little bit more pronation in my elbow. I need to tuck my right shoulder and external
11:18rotation. These kind of things won't translate into better shots. It might feel like it's making
11:26a difference. It's like a comfort blanket. If you go out on the golf course, which is a big scary
11:31place, but you think, I haven't got this swing thought. What's this swing thought I can cling to?
11:35More often than not, if you would watch your video on the golf course of your swing,
11:38the changes aren't there, which is why you need to practice it here. So if there is a swing thought
11:43that you have on the course, something like just a tempo drill. Something like you said,
11:48something to grasp onto to keep yourself, I don't know, quite granted in the swing during a game.
11:56Like having something which allows you a little bit of a feeling of smoothness, of being in control,
12:03that's fine, but try and keep it away from those big technical thoughts and really work on them on the
12:09range before you go on the course. That's the only way you're going to improve. That's the only
12:13realistic way you're going to be able to change your swing. I think good tips there. Let's clear
12:16that mind and let's just throw it like I did first time, I guess. Yes, it's the hardest thing to do
12:22though. So if you do have swing thoughts on the course, you can do slip into it. You're very much
12:28not alone. 99% of golfers are there with you. Try and drift it a little bit though, good stuff.
12:35Right Pete, last two bits. We've got some questions from readers. Actually, the first one's from
12:40Dan in Solihull, which is from me. I want to work on compressing my irons better. I can hit it okay,
12:46but I'm not getting that nice fizz and that thump into the ground that we spoke about, the sort of
12:51all turf contact I'm really after. Have you got a drill for Dan in Solihull who can help him work on that?
12:57Well, Dan, thanks for calling. Yes, I do. I kind of caveat this very slightly because if you want to
13:06compress your irons, so we're talking here about the feeling of compression, of squeezing that ball
13:11first and then hitting the turf. Not compression. The golf course is a very different thing. So if you
13:16are a golf nerd out there, don't get on the keyboard and get excited. We're talking about the feeling of
13:21compression. Thanks very much. There was somebody hopped. Oh, there was someone there. There was
13:25someone there. I remember doing a video on this a while ago, talking about compressing the irons.
13:29Which in my head is the voice that all kind of internet knowers have. That's the comment voice.
13:36Yeah. Yeah. Which I think everyone understands. So, compressing the irons. Two things you need,
13:42two things I do need to say about this. Now, it's perfectly possible to hit the ball and then the turf
13:50from a multitude of different positions coming into the ball. However, having said that, I do get a lot,
13:57have a lot of lessons really of people trying to hit the ball first in the turf. They're consistently
14:02hitting fats and thins. Now, something which is a common occurrence with those golfers is that the
14:08club for a right-handed golfer, or you're left-handed so we can flip this around for a mirror edit if you
14:12want, will move into the ball from this position. So, coming over the top and then moving down. Now,
14:20this is a steep position. Okay. Now, you would think, well, okay, if it's a steep position,
14:26I can hit down. Yeah. And it is perfectly possible to do that. However, if you come down and steep,
14:33and you're trying to send the ball straight, but the club is moving in this direction,
14:37with a target going to take the ball, you're naturally going to react to that. Because if you're
14:42stuck in that position, the ball's going to go over here super low. So, what tends to happen
14:47is when golfers move in this position, they will back up. So, the body will start to move towards
14:54the back foot, and then they will try and open the club face to try and get the ball back to target,
14:59which is why you hit thins and fats now and hit it clean at times. So, a lot of golfers will be
15:05really trying to hit down, but they're not allowing themselves to do that because they just
15:10be a scuttler across the left-hand side. So, you need to make sure that if you do want to compress
15:14the ball properly, because you need to be moving a little bit straighter, a little bit more in a
15:19neutral kind of pattern plane into the ball. First thing to say. So, if you are trying, but you are
15:25struggling, it might just be a path plane issue rather than an actual impact issue. So, having said
15:33that. Having said that as a caveat. Having said that. So, a drill that you can use. Now,
15:38this. T-peg. T-peg. Congratulations. We've got a golfer with us, ladies and gentlemen.
15:45This is a T-peg. I think this is a T-peg. Is that the Wisley? Looks like it.
15:51I've never actually played that. It's just a swan. It's just a swan. Or a goose.
15:55We're not, you know. Canadian goose. You know, we're not. Geese are fine animals as well. I'm not
15:59going to presume what that bird is. Yeah, exactly. Just because you like swans more than geese.
16:03If you are a goose watching, it doesn't mean any offence. Sorry. So, what we're going to do with this
16:07T is we're going to place it in the ground just after the ball. Now, if you want to work on path
16:14as well, let's say our target line here is again towards this first yellow flag. Yeah. If I put the
16:20T-peg in the ground slightly towards the outside of the golf ball, this is going to help path as well.
16:28Okay, I see. So, it's just doing two things at once. Exactly. Because the idea of this drill,
16:33is to get set up, hit the ball first, and then hit the T. However, the thought process
16:41is to take the ball out of this completely. Your idea here is to hit the T and not the ball.
16:49Yes. Does that make sense? I think so.
16:51So, if you manage to forget about the ball, which is a problem with golfers when I think about hitting
16:58the ball, if that's out of the way in your mind's eye and you're focused on the T-peg,
17:03if you manage to hit that T-peg out of the ground, your club will have to be moving down through the
17:09point of impact. Yeah. So, you'll be hitting the ball first, collecting it during the downswing,
17:14and the club will continue to move downwards if it wants to make contact with that T-peg.
17:20Does that make sense? It all makes sense. Could I see it? Can I see it in my own eyes?
17:24You certainly can. I'll go a little bit straighter down the range.
17:26Go for a straight one, yeah. Just because of the position of the cameras,
17:29and we don't want to mess those up. I'm going to confuse everybody.
17:32So, there's a long time to set up. Now, we're not putting it that far in front of the ball. I've
17:36actually moved it a little bit further in front than really is necessary here. Like, it could only be
17:40an inch or so. And like I said, you can do this without a ball to begin with. Yeah.
17:44But we're swinging here, and we're just focused on trying to get that T-peg out of the ground.
17:52See here? There it is. Look at that. Beautiful little snappage.
17:56That means the swan's dead, the goose is dead. That's what we're going for. Now, my target here
18:02was to get that T-peg. Like I said, it was a little bit far forward, but managed to make contact,
18:07snapped the T-peg. So, with anything else, I know there that my club has been moving down to impact.
18:14So, I've managed to make contact with the ground and hit the T-peg. I wasn't really aiming at anything
18:19particular there, but the sound and the strike, I also knew that it was that kind of contact.
18:24Very simple drill, but it also allows you to kind of play a trick on your mind as well. Yeah,
18:30definitely. Because you're taking away the ball, which is a big issue. I know this sounds really silly,
18:36but there's so many golfers watching this and understanding that they can have great practice
18:40swings. You know, they can hit the ground with their practice swings. As soon as the ball is
18:44introduced... It all gets a bit weird, doesn't it? Things start to go wrong. What if someone's
18:48practicing on a mat and we've got a beautiful grass range here at Formby, but is it like, you know,
18:52is that when we put a towel in front of it or just some kind of object? It's an object that you can hit
18:57away. Okay. So, it could be a broken tee, for example. Just something that you're not going to miss.
19:02I don't use £20 notes. It depends who you are. It's not what, just distributing them out onto the range.
19:09I don't know if Jeff Bezos is watching this. Probably hit £20 notes, to be fair, but something
19:13that can be moved after the ball. Exactly, because that's what you want to focus on hitting. Got you.
19:18The ball is just very much getting in the way. Well, down in Solihull, I hope that was really useful
19:22and you can take that away with you and get better hitting those irons.
19:25Right, lastly then, Pete. Howard and Peterborough got in touch and he is
19:32topping his fairway wood, both off the tee and off the deck. Need some help with it. It's a valuable
19:36club in the bag, something to get right. What are some tips and some general striking tips, I guess,
19:40for these quite tricky clubs? So, first thing to say, it is a difficult club to hit. There's not a lot of
19:46loft on there and that automatically makes people try and lift it up in the air. Now, if you're topping your
19:53fairway wood, most likely as you're coming through impact, the body is backing up and away. The club
20:01head overtakes the hands in this kind of motion and that's where the club is ascending through impact
20:07on its angle of attack. Well, not angle of attack, angle of attention. And that is why you're catching
20:12the top of the ball and not hitting it flush. It's something that a lot of people struggle with,
20:18as said. So, don't worry, you're going to be okay and we're all here for you. All right?
20:24It's a safe space. It's a safe space. Now, we used in a drill previously, we did use a T-peg.
20:30Okay. Now, I've got another T-peg. I was just seeing what's coming out of the different
20:32T's out of your pocket every time. Now, this T-peg's from the Nest. Now,
20:35the first T-peg I could use from the Wisley. I've never been there and I don't know where the
20:38nest is either. Where are these coming from? I don't know. It's definitely my bag.
20:41I've not picked up a random one in the car park. I don't know. Someone's obviously gifted me some
20:47T's. Now, I'm going to put the ball to the side for just one second. I'm going to pop the T in the
20:53ground and I'm just going to leave just a little bit of it showing. Just a little bit of it showing.
20:58Now, very, very simply, we want the club to be moving through impact with the fairway woods,
21:05hitting the ball and then just bruising the ground. Just giving it a little caress.
21:11It's a nice turn of phrase. As it goes through. Just bruising the ground slightly.
21:13Just bruising it. We just want it skimming along here. We don't want a big, deep divot,
21:18even though you can still hit a successful shot like that. We just want that briefest
21:23moment of contact. Okay. Bruising the contact. Bruising the ground. I'm learning.
21:30The way to do that is to control low point. Okay. So, as the club moves through impact,
21:35it comes down and then eventually it'll start rising up. It's this middle bit,
21:40right at the bottom, which is what you need the control of. Okay. So, with this T peg,
21:46all I want you to do is setting up to it as you would a fairway wood. So, the ball is going to be
21:50just inside that left heel. Just going to take half a swing back. And as we move through,
21:56you just want to get the feeling that we can just click that T peg. Okay. So, it's only a little bit
22:02out of the ground. You just want that feeling so we can just click it as we go through. Okay.
22:08That is controlling low point. Now, you might say, well, Pete, that's really simple.
22:14Mm. It is.
22:16It is. And that's the key. Because this is a hard club to hit. We don't need those complicated
22:21thoughts. Okay. If you can clip that T peg and you can control low point, you're halfway there. Okay.
22:27Okay. Now, the second thing, if you want to have something technical to think about,
22:32is all about where your sternum position is. Okay. Now, sternum, right here, middle of the chest,
22:40pretty much keeps the rib cage together. Very important. If you don't have one, consult your
22:44doctor. But I'm presuming most of you will. Are we doing well to sat up watching this video?
22:48Listen, if you're topping your farewell woods and you don't have a sternum, why?
22:51Wow. You've got to be your priorities are in the wrong place. All right. Get this checked out first.
22:56So when we talk about low point, what this is referring to is the imaginary circle that the club
23:03takes around the body. It's not a circle. It moves into different shapes. If you think about the swing
23:09going around the body as a circle. Okay. Whatever you want to think about it, clock face, the aurora of the
23:15sun, I don't know, whatever. A circle. Yeah. A circle of things. Now, the circle, basically the
23:22center, if you think about it being in the sternum, the bottom of the circle is going to be here,
23:28which is right in line with that sternum on the ground. Okay. Now, if you move through and you back
23:34up, the circle shifts to the right and the bottom of the circle, the bottom of the swing off, will be
23:40before the ball, which is why you hit the tops and all the rest of it. So we can use that T-peg,
23:45drill, but really simply, as you move through the ball, try and keep the sternum position over the
23:51top of the golf ball. Okay. In reality, with a fairway, with a driver, as the club's getting
23:57longer and the ball moves further forward, the sternum will often be slightly behind the ball.
24:02Don't need to worry about that too much. There's a swing thought. Try and feel like the sternum
24:07stays on top. If your sternum stays on top of the golf ball, you will not be able to move in this
24:12direction. Now, you can combine those two feelings, T-peg, drill, sternum over the top of it, but
24:20I think set up as far as getting the ball position right as well, the sternum on top
24:27and just get the feeling of clicking that T-peg as you go through.
24:31That's simple. But it's the same without a T if the ball's on the ground. Safe healing,
24:36same drill. Good work. That was it. I think that was really clear. So Howard in Peterburg,
24:42thank you for that. That's really simple. Some really great drills there, Pete. Some really
24:46great pieces of advice. As the young, vibrant coach that you are, thank you for coming on the channel.
24:51I don't feel it now. I'm out of rest.
24:53I'm out of rest. Thanks for sharing some tips this week.
24:55All right, guys. Thanks for your breath. Let's go get one.
24:58Let's watch it. Cheers.